The power of "Why" (and why not)

In what seems like a previous life, I studied to be an English and History teacher, and in so doing, realised a theory that’s helped me throughout my life. The power of “why”.  

For context, I came to discover that doing literary analysis is essentially about the “why?” Why do the characters behave as they do? Why do events unfold at particular moments within the narrative? Why did the author write this story in the first place?  

Depending on the expertise of the writer, we know what happened, we know how it happened, we know where it happened, we know when it happened, and we know who made it happen and whom it affected. But that’s not analysis – that's simply studying and possibly memorising the structure of the piece.  

And so it was with historical analysis. We know the First World War happened. We know where, when and how it happened, and who was involved. But where’s the why? What caused it to happen? What were the geopolitical conditions at the time that set off a devastating conflict? And how do we stop it happening again? Unfortunately, we didn’t, and the outcomes from the First war directly created the conditions for the Second. 

While this seems like a very academic topic for a corporate networking website like LinkedIn, the power of why is an essential element of good leadership, from CEOs to Managing Directors, Department Heads, Line Managers, Teachers, and the Foreman on a building site. For your people to properly invest in your vision and do what you want, how, when and where you want it done, you’ll do yourself a lot of favours by telling them why. 

There are many advantages to telling people why they are doing something. In the first instance, your people will appreciate being taken into your confidence about important decisions that will ultimately affect them. Trusting people with knowledge inspires commitment and loyalty – they feel part of the brain, not just the body, and empowered to make their own contribution in the planning and execution of the project. 

Explaining why is also vital to ensuring consistency in performance. Simply saying “I don’t like it” or “Do it this way because I said so” is not only disrespectful, it doesn’t help your staff member understand exactly where they went wrong, so there’s a likelihood it will happen again. They may think you’re just in a bad mood, or too busy, so what’s wrong today may be right tomorrow. 

“Why” is a fundamental ingredient of guidance, not simply criticism. In my previous capacity as a Creative Director, I'd assemble my team around a brief and we would brainstorm ideas. If someone was missing the mark, it was incumbent on me to explain why. It could be that their idea was off brand, or missing the objective of the brief, or it’s a fun idea, but doesn’t relate to the product. But I like to think that to the best of my abilities, I always gave them a sound and logical reason to develop their concepts further. I provided the why. 

In this way, your peoples’ knowledge grows, and they will understand that you have a consistent approach to task management, not simply barking orders at them. They’ll recognise that it’s always about the project, not anyone’s ego, and that helps with team cohesion too. 

The Power of Why Not 

For this insight, I have my son to thank. Not now at a handsome and strapping 21 years old, but when he was a toddler watching the Wiggles. When we watched it together, he would insist on enabling subtitles. 

Now for me, watching something with subtitles was always a necessary evil in understanding a plot point in anything other than my pathetically monolingual native tongue. Thus, they were, and remained, a source of irritation.  

Then one day it dawned on my bumbling brain… he was teaching himself to read! Every time he heard a word, he saw it, and every time he saw a word, he heard it. So now he knew how to properly pronounce words he recognised and ever since he’s had an expansive vocabulary and excellent ability at spelling. 

The power of why not led him to take advantage of one of the lesser considered features of DVD – the ability to enable or disable subtitles at any moment. Think about it. This was never available on VHS, and subtitles on anything else were for the purpose of translation. Watching those subtitles didn’t teach you the language being spoken. 

I had never considered why anyone would willingly subject themselves to what I thought were unnecessary subtitles. But just by one day thinking “why not?”, my young dude uncovered a learning opportunity within a video he actually enjoyed watching, and for a few years he did that for every DVD he watched, whether it was meant to be educational or not. 

So, for every “why?”, there may equally be a “why not?”. My son taught me that you never know it all, that other people have perspectives that may never have dawned on you and are therefore always worth considering.  

In your circumstance as a leader or team member, give people your respect and attention, consider what they say and do, and their reasons for putting a proposition. Listen to their whys and why nots. I guarantee you’ll be better for it.